Chapter 457: Li Dajin and Li He

By mid-February, faint signs of spring had already appeared across most of the Jiangbei region in South Zhili, and patches of green could be seen along the roadsides and in the fields.

On the canal, travel south from Qingjiangpu was unobstructed, but from Qingjiangpu north to Yutou Town, only certain sections were navigable.

Yet even with only some sections passable, moving a large force became much easier — supplies, grain, and such could all be loaded onto boats. For the Feng family, however, such trouble was unnecessary. The Fengs needed only to dispatch messengers ahead along the route to make arrangements everywhere, and then the provisions and lodging for the main force would naturally be handled by others.

The Feng family had operated in Yangzhou Prefecture and Huai'an Prefecture for far too long. The Xuzhou men had only arrived just over a month ago and could only focus on securing their own foothold first; they didn't have that many scouts to send out and were very unclear about the Feng family's movements. Moreover, this time the Feng family's large force advanced in small detachments — just as Zhao Jin had done when moving refugees toward the Grass Nest, they split into squads of a hundred or so men each, and many of them even traveled by boat.

Just like that, they bypassed Luoma Lake and arrived at a place half a day's march from the refugee stockade. The Feng family's affiliated trading companies had long since made preparations here, and squad after squad converged at the camp to rest and regroup.

The men arriving at this camp had not only come north along the river — some had also come from the north and the east.

Unlike an ordinary merchant caravan, and even unlike those bandit gangs that often camped out, this camp was arranged with considerable order. Where the tents went, where the paths were laid, where sentry posts should be, how much force should guard the supplies and equipment, and how the perimeter should be set — all of it was exceptionally strict and disciplined. These were the ones who had come north along the river.

But such strict order applied only to part of the camp. A sizable area looked far less disciplined, a chaotic mess with no semblance of order. Outside the camp, a patch of ground had even been hastily cleared, and men were encamped there too, though they looked even more disorderly. Even if seventy percent was orderly, that thirty percent of chaos made the whole place a mess. These were the ones from the north and the east.

A dozen or so sturdy, able-bodied men escorted a big fellow out of the camp. This place was already at the edge of the Grass Nest — flat open country as far as the eye could see, with hardly any households in sight, just an endless sea of wild, overgrown grassland. In such conditions, climbing high to scan the distance was crucial; one could see a vast expanse of territory.

In the orderly camp, those men conducted themselves with considerable discipline, their movements full of regulation. This, however, made the others rather uncomfortable — they thought it was all pretentious play-acting.

Men who lived by the blade and spear showed their displeasure openly. On the road, some had jeered and mocked; after converging at the camp, others kept provoking them. But everywhere soon fell quiet. Displeasure was one thing, but in the end, everything had to be settled by blade and spear. Once a fight broke out, that bunch of men from the orderly camp proved their skill wasn't limited to pitching tents. The mockers and provokers left behind over a dozen corpses, and after that, no one dared say another word.

A few squads familiar with the Feng family, however, noticed that this group of nearly a thousand men were not the Feng family's private soldiers or guards. The several hundred men the Fengs had brought were actually taking orders from this bunch. That immediately made everyone realize how formidable they were, and no one dared make a sound. These men instantly became the core force.

As for that big fellow they were escorting — tall and powerfully built aside, his saber work and spear work clearly marked him as an expert who had trained for many years. He also carried a heavy killing aura. No one knew when the Feng family had raised such a man.

The big fellow climbed up a hastily erected watchtower, looked around in all directions from the top, and then fixed his gaze toward the northeast for a long while.

"That stockade actually put up earthen walls — a bit troublesome. Wasteland scrub all around, and both sides throw this much capital into a godforsaken place. Are their brains not working right?" the big fellow said, his face full of impatience.

The dozen or so sturdy men gathered below burst into laughter. One of them stepped forward to give him a steadying hand and said, "Chief, rich folk want to spend money, and that's how us brothers get a little extra on the side..."

Before he could finish, the big fellow glared and cut him off: "Has your brain gone rotten? I've said it eight hundred times — call me Master! If anyone finds out we're out here, even the General will be in huge trouble!"

The man he'd scolded just chuckled, showing no great fear, and said with a grin, "Master's right. If we get exposed, the General gets less silver too."

The group burst into laughter again. Someone said dismissively, "Master, so what if we're exposed? When the time comes, we'll just clean them all out along with the Feng family!"

"Even if those bastards tried to report it, who'd believe them?"

"Master, don't worry so much. Isn't it just a refugee stockade? One push and it's flattened!"

At these words, that "Master" glared again, turned his head, and cursed angrily: "Idiots! If one push flattens it, how do we squeeze out more silver? A job like this doesn't come often — don't you want to earn a bit more?"

The scene went quiet for a moment, then everyone roared with laughter. The one who had flattered him earlier added, "Chief... no, Master's brilliant scheme! After we sweep this place, we'll head to Xuzhou and drink our fill of that fine liquor."

"Going to Xuzhou would be trouble. This is already Old Zhou's territory. If we stir things up too much, the General won't be able to answer for it." Just as he said this, the sound of hoofbeats rang out.

The moment they heard that sound, the dozen or so men who had been chatting and laughing relaxed immediately snatched up their weapons. The quickest ones had already swung onto their horses, but they soon relaxed again.

Five riders were galloping toward them from the distance. When they arrived, the lead rider, a big fellow, dismounted, and the other four all followed behind him.

At the sight of this mounted man, the dozen or so who had arrived earlier dropped their casual demeanor and bowed slightly in greeting: "Master Li!"

"Brothers, you've worked hard. Once this job is done, you won't be treated poorly!" Li Dajin said solemnly, then smiled and nodded at the "Chief" beside him.

That "Chief" looked at Li Dajin with unconcealed envy and said with a laugh, "Big Li, you've really taken the right path. Working for the Feng family is way more comfortable than serving in our camp — silver and women, you want for nothing!"

Li Dajin stepped forward and gave the "Chief" a punch, laughing as he cursed, "As if you do any less of that stuff back in camp. Don't cry poor to me."

The whole group laughed. The "Chief" took the punch without getting angry and simply said, "That stockade those miserable refugees threw together really doesn't have much worth taking — at most, you can grab some people to sell. I hear there aren't many women or children inside."

"No need to worry about that. The Feng family wants those people. They'll give you a good price when the time comes. And while we're at it, we'll sweep through this Grass Nest — anyone we flush out counts as your bonus." Li Dajin said with a smile.

Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up, and their attitudes grew noticeably warmer. Li Dajin waved his hand grandly and said, "We move tomorrow. Today, everyone rest up. We've long since prepared plenty of liquor — tonight, let's have some fun."

They roared their agreement and each mounted up to leave. The "Chief" was just about to follow when Li Dajin grabbed him and pulled him back. The smile was now gone from Li Dajin's face. He said in a low voice, "That stockade has high walls and plenty of men. It won't be easy to take — a lot of people are going to die!"

"It's just a den a bunch of refugees huddled together. Even if that Zhao Jin gave them weapons, so what? Under our brothers' blades, they're still just pigs and dogs. Big Li, you've gone soft!" the "Chief" said dismissively.

After saying this, the "Chief" winked and added with a grin, "The harder it is to take, the better. We'll squeeze more silver out of it then, and us brothers will split it!"

"If too many die, how will you explain it when you go back?"

"So what if they die? The General can pocket a few more ghost rations — he'd be more than happy." came the cheerful reply.

Li Dajin shook his head, his face dark, and said, "Don't be stingy with lives when the time comes. Send out all your night scouts right now. I'll also group my best mounted archers together. We can't let anyone get out to send word."

The Chief's face still wore a teasing grin as he joked, "Back in the army, they used to say Big Li and Little Li — that you were the bold one and I was the cautious one. How come it's different today?"

"Li He, that Zhao Jin is formidable. Don't be careless!"

"Scared of what? Zhao Jin's just a snot-nosed kid — you're this afraid of him?" the "Chief" Li He shot back, then said dismissively, "Big Li, have you lost your mind? How far is this place from Xuzhou? How many four-legged mounts does Zhao Jin even have? By the time he gets here, we'll have long since swept this place clean. What reinforcements are you even worried about?"

These words made Li Dajin freeze. Then he shook his head with a self-mocking smile and gave a dry laugh. "You're right. I've gotten a bit obsessed. What's wrong with me — I'm actually a little rattled."

"You've been living a peaceful life too long, always mixing with these jianghu types. All that ferocious killer instinct from back in the day has scattered clean away. Men like us who lick blood off our blades — without that ferocity, how can we get by?" Li He muttered a couple of remarks.

Li Dajin nodded woodenly. Li He clapped him on the shoulder and chuckled, "Big Li, tonight we'll have a few cups together. But what needs doing still has to be done. Let's head back now and send out all those night scouts and the wolves and tigers from the greenwood!"

The two men rode back toward the camp. The few Feng family guards Li Dajin had brought trailed far behind, whispering among themselves nonstop.

"Our Master Li's gotten way too timid. We've even mobilized government troops this time — what's he still so afraid of?"

"I find it embarrassing too. The Feng family's best fighters, friends from every mountain and river — so many people have come, and he's still this cautious."

"Exactly. Stopping the horses way back, creeping forward bent over — he was practically crawling on the ground..."

"That Li He, Battalion Commander Li, is a trusted man of the Wolf Mountain Vice General. The unit he brought might not be the personal guard corps, but it's still one of the most capable battalions. With a battalion like that, plus our Feng family men, let alone one dirt stockade — there isn't a city in all of Jiangbei we couldn't take!"

Up ahead, Li Dajin and Li He naturally couldn't hear the idle chatter behind them. The two were chatting and laughing merrily, talking about goings-on in Yangzhou these past few years, swapping old tales from the Wolf Mountain garrison days. Both were in considerably better spirits.

Once back at camp, Li Dajin found a large cart and climbed on top of it. He gave a few orders, and his men immediately went off to spread the word in every direction.

Those jianghu men might have looked askance at government officers like Li He, but before Li Dajin, none of them dared show the slightest negligence. As soon as the call went out, they hurried over and gathered. Before long, the area around the cart was packed with gang leaders. Seeing that most everyone had arrived, Li Dajin reached out and pulled Li He up onto the cart with him.